The Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that advocates cannot use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to get details about cases they handle for their clients. The CIC said this misuse goes against the spirit of the law. The ruling came after the commission rejected a second appeal by an advocate involved in a contract dispute at a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Haryana. Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi noted that the advocate sought information on behalf of his brother, a former supplier of fruits and vegetables to the public authority. The CIC said the advocate failed to explain why the supplier himself did not seek the information. Hence, it appeared the advocate sought the data for his client, which is not allowed. The commission referred to a Madras High Court order that said, "a practising advocate cannot seek information relating to the cases instituted by him on behalf of his client." The court warned that if advocates used the RTI this way, "every practising advocate would invoke the provisions of the RTI Act for getting information on behalf of his client," which would defeat the act's purpose. The CIC emphasized, "the laudable objectives of the RTI Act cannot be used for personal ends and should not become a tool in the hands of the advocate for seeking all kinds of information to promote his practice." The public authority had also said some records were destroyed in a fire, and it rightly denied personal information under exemption rules. The CIC found no fault with the reply from the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO). The appeal was disposed of. The commission directed the authority to share copies of written submissions with the advocate.